HEA asked authors: What romances do you take to the beach?

HEA asked authors: What romances do you take to the beach?

Today is July Fourth and tomorrow is National Bikini Day, so it’s the perfect time to ask authors to share their favorite beach reads …

Jessie (reader of all books): I actually love listening to my beach reads, and after recently finishing Allegiance of Honor by Nalini Singh, I’ve restarted the ENTIRE Psy-Changeling series. I’m currently on Caressed by Ice!

Helen Hardt, author of Steel Brothers Series

I love immersing myself in a good book while relaxing on the beach! Some of my go-to authors for the beach are Lisa Kleypas, Meredith Wild and, of course, Nora Roberts. Sometimes I’ll even re-read a good bodice ripper from Kathleen E. Woodiwiss or Rebecca Brandewyne — great for the beach!

Danielle Paige, author of Yellow Brick War

The Royal We by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan is a modern-day princess roman à clef — that posits an American student who falls in love with the Prince of England at Oxford. With shades of Kate and William, this delicious page turner is the perfect beach companion. It has all the swoons and feels! And the tiaras! And Heather and Jessica, known for their FugGirls column, have a studied view of all things royal, and their attention to detail makes us feel like we are in the would-be princess’ stilettos and, more importantly, in her heart!

Also, reading this summer — Aimee Friedman’s Two Summers! Think YA Sliding Doors with a girl living two parallel lives and romances depending on where or not she boards a fateful plane!

Amanda K. Morgan, author of Secrets, Lies & Scandals

There’s one gorgeous book I have gone back to over and over again: Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine. I think, maybe, I got it out of one of those wonderful book orders, or perhaps even at a book fair. (Why don’t we have those for adults?) I adore Ella so much that the glue on the binding is peeling off and the cover is barely attached. Someday I’ll order myself a new copy, but there’s something about the original one that I can’t part with. It’s a wonderful story and it’s hardly a spoiler to tell you it has glass slippers, a prince and a happily ever after — in other words, a perfect vacation read.

Both Dhonielle and I were completely sucked in by Marie Rutkoski’s delicious Winner’s Curse trilogy — we would read and chat, read and chat, and were both devastated at the end. She knows how to slay the heart, that Marie.

Sarah Ballance, author of The Millionaire’s Gamble

Wait, people get to read on the beach? We live right by the beach, and the vast majority of my time there is spent repeatedly counting to six to make sure none of my wretchedly fearless children have disappeared. (Some of them go so far out in the ocean they probably need passports to return, but I digress.) Assuming a cocktail menu isn’t the answer you were looking for (no, really, does that count?), I’d kill for something playful and beachy that made me think of how much I’d like to be at the beach, only I wouldn’t have to yearn for it because — hello, instant gratification — I’d be there. So on that note, I’m totally staring at Tawna Fenske’s utterly delicious Best Man for Hire, because seriously, who isn’t wanting to get lost in THAT? Throw in the aforementioned cocktails, and we’re talking utter beach bliss!

Katharine McGee, author of The Thousandth Floor

Any hefty paperback! I love my Kindle, but it’s always fun to read a paper book at the beach in case you drop the book in the water (I’ve done this on multiple occasions … the risks of reading on inflatable pool rafts!) And I love long books — anything that lets me disappear into a twisty, complicated romance or historical that will last the entire vacation!

Mary Calmes, author of Chevalier

My favorite beach read is actually any historical of Julie Garwood’s with a Scottish laird. I love The Bride, which I’ve read a million times, followed by Saving Grace. What makes them special is that they’re all fun, they all have plucky heroines who the hero never realized how much he really needed and they have great big happily ever afters.

Jade Chandler, author of Enough

I love a light, fun read when on vacation. Something that makes me laugh, shed a tear and go mushy when the conflict is resolved. I save the angst and dark romance for when I want overdose emotion during normal life. Blurred Lines by Lauren Layne was my last beach read, and it gave me the everything and more I was looking for. In Blurred Lines, Parker and Ben defied the cliché about men and women not being able to be only friends for years. Then suddenly they are both available, hormones take over and the roller-coaster ride begins. I loved the sexy banter, the real struggles and of course the perfect happily ever after. It totally satisfied my craving for friends-to-lovers.

Andrew Grey, author of Rekindled Flame

My favorite beach read is anything I can get my hands on. I don’t spend much time on the beach because I sunburn, but the last book I read while at the beach was Refired by B.A. Tortuga. I loved it.

L.A. Witt, author of All the Wrong Places

I’m weird. When I go to the beach, I’m usually reading some sort of crushingly depressing dystopian science-fiction novel, or some Mafia-related biography. Then again, that’s usually what I’m reading anyway, but it sounds even weirder when I think about taking it to the beach.

Nalini Singh, author of Allegiance of Honor

A new release by a favorite author. Genre doesn’t matter, but I want to know that the author’s voice is one I adore and that’ll keep me happy company at the beach.

Jessie Potts, also known as BookTaster, adores books in all forms. She’s fascinated by the book process and works in the submissions department at Dreamspinner Press. You can follow her on Twitter (@BookTaster).

Jessie Potts

Jessie Potts adores books in all forms. She loves steamy romances, leggings and mermaid hair. She’s an acquisitions editor at Dreamspinner Press (she never writes recs for HEA for books published by Dreamspinner). You can follow her on Twitter (@BookTaster) or Instagram (@jessiespointe).